Day 1 Sunday, April 18:
Check-in at Boston airport for overnight flight to Rome.
Day 2 Monday, April 19:
Upon arrival in Fiumicino airport we will meet our guide
and transfer to Rome. On arrival in we will celebrate the opening Mass of our pilgrimage
in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the oldest of the four Papal basilicas in Rome and
afterwards have a light lunch and maybe visit the nearby Holy Stairs where we will have
the opportunity to climb the stairs in the traditional manner. We will catch our first views
of the Eternal City as we transfer to the four-star Hotel Della Conciliazione where we will
stay for three nights. Todays meals included - Lunch, evening meal
Day 3 Tuesday, April 20:
After breakfast we will we will visit Vatican Museums
with its fine masterpieces of painting, sculpture and works of art collected by the
popes through the centuries. After lunch we will enjoy a tour of St. Peters Basilica
where we will see Michelangelos delicate Piet statue, the canopy altar where the
Pope celebrates Mass and the crypt of the Popes. After the tour we will celebrate Mass,
before returning to the hotel for Dinner. Todays meals included Breakfast, evening meal
Day 4 Wednesday, April 21:
This morning we will attend the Papal Audience
in St. Peters Square. In the afternoon we will enjoy a walking tour of ancient Rome.
We will pass by the world-famous Colosseum, the nearby Roman Forum, Piazza
Venezia with the imposing statue of Victor Emmanuel and Circus Maximus. We will
end our day with Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary Major the largest catholic Marian
church in Italy. Alternatively, time permitting, we will visit the necropolis underneath
the Basilica, where the tomb of St. Peter is located, those patient excavations have
revealed more than 1,000 tombs and graves dating from the 1st century BC through
AD 320. Todays meals included Breakfast, evening meal
Day 5 Thursday, April 22:
This morning we will depart Rome and drive to Assisi,
birthplace of St. Francis and St. Clare, arriving by lunchtime and check into the fourstar
Hotel Dei Priori for one night for dinner, bed & breakfast. In the afternoon enjoy
the tranquility of Assisi before celebrating Mass in the Basilica of St. Clare, founder
of the Order of the Poor Clares. We will have time for prayer before the San Damiano
cross and afterwards visit the tomb of the great saint. After Mass our guided tour
of the medieval town of Assisi will bring us to the Basilica of St. Francis where we
will have time to admire the impressive frescoes and works of Giotto, Cimabue and
Simone Martini. In the evening we will have dinner in the Hotel.
Todays meals included Breakfast, evening meal
Day 6 Friday, April 23:
This morning we will celebrate Mass in the Basilica of
Santa Maria degli Angeli. Afterwards we will get the chance to see the chapel of the
Porziuncola where St. Clare began her monastic life, the chapel of the Transito where
St. Francis died and the famous Rose Garden. After lunch we will have time for some
private sightseeing we will visit the convent of San Damiano. Located in a beautiful
setting just outside the walls of Assisi, it is the place where St. Francis received his
miraculous calling in 1205 and where St. Clare died in 1253 an important stop on
a pilgrimage to the Franciscan Holy City. Todays meals included Breakfast, evening meal
Day 7 Saturday, April 24:
This morning we will depart Assisi and drive to Sienna.
On arrival in Siena we will enjoy a guided tour of the town visiting the majestic cathedral
and afterwards learn of the life of St Catherine with a visit to her house where we will
see the oratory of her bedroom where she prayed and the Church of the Crucifix from
which St. Catherine received the stigmata. Afterwards we will have free time for lunch
in the famous Piazza del Campo. In the afternoon Our day in Siena will come to an end
with the celebration of Mass in the Church of San Domenico where Catherine spent
hours absorbed in prayer and experienced mystical visions and ecstasies. After our day
of sightseeing we will transfer to the four-star Sheraton Siena where we will stay for one
night. Todays meals included Breakfast, evening meal
Day 8 Sunday, April 25:
This morning we will depart Siena and drive to
Florence. We will celebrate Mass in the cathedral and afterwards enjoy a tour of the
spectacular city and understand more why it is often referred to as the Cradle of the
Renaissance. Afterwards we will have time at leisure for lunch and later continue
our drive towards Venice where we will stay in the four-star Eurostarts Residence
Canareggio or similar for three nights. Todays meals included Breakfast, evening meal
Day 9 Monday, April 26:
The great maritime republic, Venice was once the
richest city in the world during the 15th century. We will celebrate Mass in St.
Marks Basilica and afterwards have time to admire its luminous mosaics. St. Marks
Basilica is truly an unforgettable sight and considered one of Italys best loved tourist
attractions. In the afternoon we will take a journey along one of the worlds great
aquatic thoroughfares, The Grand Canal, gliding past elegant palazzos; once the
homes of wealthy merchants. Todays meals included Breakfast, evening meal
Day 10 Tuesday, April 27:
This morning we will travel to Padua and celebrate
Mass in the Basilica of St. Anthony. We will enjoy a guided tour of the university town
with its meandering streets and quaint squares and after lunch visit the Shrine of St.
Leopold Mandic - the Croatian capuchin friar who became known as the Apostle of
Confession and the Apostle of Unity due to the long hours he spent each day in the
confessional. Todays meals included Breakfast, evening meal
Day 11 Wednesday, April 28:
This morning we will check out of our hotel and
travel to Venice airport as we return to our homes, filled with a sense of tranquility,
rejuvenation and peace in our hearts.
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